The antenatal period is an important time for reaching pregnant women with a number of interventions essential to their health and well-being and that of their infants. Every region made progress in coverage of antenatal care for women at least once during pregnancy. In the developing world as a whole, the proportion of women receiving antenatal care increased from 60 per cent in around 1995 to 75 per cent in around 2005. Many of these women, however, attend fewer than the four antenatal care visits recommended by UNICEF and the World Health Organization.